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reviews
Panto
2007/08 KEVIN STILL SPARKLES AMONG SOAP STARS
Swansea Grand
Theatre
UK Productions are rightly renowned for the slickness and professionalism of their touring shows, and this - the first panto to be staged by the company at the Grand - is no exception.
Seasoned trouper Barry Daniels fares particularly well as Alderman Fitzwarren, while Adam Gaskin does a super job as Tommy the Cat. The big names for this one are Hannah Waterman - who cuts a fine figure in the title role - plus Ray Meagher as a highly effective and villainous King Rat, and Anne Charleson as the dotty but lovable Fairy Bowbells - but it is Rik Gaynor’s Idle Jack who dominates the proceedings with his breakneck delivery and lively, animated approach. One suspects that the script has been doing the rounds for a while, and some segments would benefit from the odd tweak here and there - some of the references are a tad dated, and several of the gags hark back to the days when innuendo and flatulence jokes were an accepted part of the genre. Musical director Griff Harries and young performers from the Grand Theatre Dance School complete the line-up for this spirited, if rather overly long, production, which should hopefully get the box office tills ringing well into 2008.
The
ever-reliable Kevin Johns is nothing short of
perfect as the archetypal panto dame, Widow Twankey
- a role which gives him every opportunity to play
to his strengths and to have fun
South Wales Evening Post
Toshack or Me
(January Production)
Kevin Johns scores heavily in an amusing subplot as a footie-crazed
vicar called Joe, whose clash with the Bishop (George Andrews)
provides some of the play's most diverting moments.
Evening
Post
Toshack or Me
(January Production)
The
nail-biting head-to-head was the climax of the play,
which gave us a mirthsome performance by Kevin Johns
and the rest of the cast.
The scene-stealing comic made his Fluellen debut as a Swans-loving vicar who entreats the Lord for victory at the Vetch and who harries and hurries his congregation through services so he can catch the kick-off. He gets in a bit of bother with the Bish and is hauled up before the ecclesiastical authorities to explain himself - leading to some great physical comedy and a string of dodgy but charming football jokes. Evening Post
Fresh from his
Panto run, Kevin Johns took the part of the Vicar,
who prays for his team to win and is filled with the
wrong kind of spirit that often lands him in
trouble. With his usual apt comic timing, Kevin
Johns proved excellent entertainment, whipping the
crowd up just as he’s done so for years at Swans
games.
Johns and Miles were the main instigators of visual comedy – one of the play’s strongest points, leaving the audience in stitches. Theatre Wales
Amazing Grace
Kevin Johns
almost stole the show - is there nothing that man
cannot turn his hand to. (I must admit I was half
expecting him to don his Widow Twankey costume)?
Kevin produced an extremely credible performance as
miners' leader Will Hay.
Llanelli Star
Kevin Johns
was clearly having a whale of a time as Miner’s
Leader Will Hay
Evening Post
One of the
highlights of the show was Kevin Johns and Raise the
Flag.
North Wales Weekly News
The other
singing miners are led by Kevin Johns, happily
moonlighting from his day-job, presenting the
Breakfast Show for Swansea Sound, he gives an
authoritative performance as Will Hay, another who,
at the beginning, is doubtful about the force of
Evans conviction.
Theatre Wales Kevin Johns scores heavily in an amusing subplot as a footie-crazed vicar called Joe, whose clash with the Bishop (George Andrews) provides some of the play's most diverting moments
Toshack
or Me - South Wales Evening Post
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Panto at the Swansea Grand Theatre was a great
success this year.
Kev was back as Dame - Nurse Rhondda in the Qdos production of Snow White. A PRETTY GIRL, PRINCE AND A WITCH - IT'S PANTO TIME AGAIN Kevin Johns - resplendent as ever in a variety of vastly overdone frocks and bonnets brilliantly delivers quickfire gags with real comedic flair. On the opening night, however, it was during the off-the-cuff exchanges with a group of children from the audience that Kevin Johns struck gold with his deadpan observations about the Ospreys' performance at the Liberty Stadium earlier that evening - an excellent example of the way in which this popular performer is able to salvage comic gold from the most unlikely sources. GRAHAM WILLIAMS Evening Post Kevin Johns shines as the archetypal dame figure, Nurse Rhondda, bringing his homely and at times disarmingly deadpan brand of humour to the role. Western Mail
Panto
KEVIN JOHNS brings his usual knockabout charm and
"Swansea Jack" flavour to the role of Dame Trot, and
has the crowd in stitches from
the word go'. Encore
Kevin
Johns is his usual splendid self as Dame Trot,
bringing all his local knowledge to bear upon the
role and relating brilliantly to the audience
Theatre in Wales
It
is particularly appropriate that this piece should
be staged so soon after the Grand's record-breaking
run of Jack and the Beanstalk, all the more so when
one considers that one of the panto's stars - the
popular local radio presenter Kevin Johns - made a
surprise guest appearance in the role of Micho, a
vintner who wants to marry off his dullard of a son,
Nikez (Denis Muruev), to local beauty Lise (Evgenia
Enikeeva).
Amazingly, Johns was perfect for the part and worked in perfect harmony with Muruev - indeed, the pair emerged as a Laurel and Hardy-style partnership that brought the house down Western Mail
'Kevin Johns is hugely entertaining as Dame Gertie the circus proprietor.
Snow White
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